Zephyrus Premieres The Gift to Sing for A Cappella Chorus

Zephryus, the excellent Charlottesville-based vocal ensemble, will premiere their commissioned piece, The Gift to Sing on their program From Darkness to Light: Music by Women Composers. The Gift to Sing is an a cappella  setting for mixed choir  of the touching poem by that name by James Weldon Johnson.  A writer and important member of the Harlen Renaissance, he was a strong  civil rights activist who served as the first executive secretary of the NAACP.  More information about him can be found here. I was drawn to set this poem because it speaks so deeply to the power of music, and especially of singing, in helping overcome the darkness that we all experience during our lives